Reversal of Fortune

Last March the case of three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping an exotic dancer ignited widespread outrage. More and more, though, it's District Attorney Mike Nifong who's in the hot seat. First, results of a rape kit test showed DNA from several men—none of them members of the lacrosse team. Nifong failed to disclose that information, which was uncovered by the defense in October. In December the accuser, a 28-year-old student at a Durham college, suddenly said that she could not say positively that she had been raped during the alleged attack. That caused Nifong to drop the rape charges against the players, who still face kidnapping and sexual offense counts.

Now Nifong himself is in legal trouble. In December the North Carolina Bar Association filed an ethics complaint against him, contending that the D.A.'s comments to the press were prejudicial and that he engaged in deceitful and dishonest conduct. (Nifong has refused to comment.)

Meanwhile, underscoring the unraveling of the case, Duke has invited two of the accused students, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty, to resume their studies. (The third, David Evans, has already graduated.)